Soccer Training for Kids
Posted by C G on 3/27/2018
Tags: Soccer, Training Tips
Practice Makes
Perfect: Soccer Training for Kids
Here are some of our favorite-at home drills to get your
child ready for soccer.
Dribbling
This is a great way to teach kids to focus on controlling
the ball while moving. Set up cones in a line or zigzag pattern. Have your
child start at one end and kick the ball through the cones to the other end.
Have he/she focus on keeping the ball close to them while moving through the
cones. Once the player becomes more advanced, he/she can still do this drill
but have the player try not to look down at the ball.
Relay
This is a great for the whole family to get involved! Have each family member form a line with
distance between them. The player at the end of the line will begin to kick the
ball to the next player in line and so on. Once the ball is at the end of the
line, that player will then begin to kick the ball back in the other direction.
Once your family gets the hang of it, you can have them move farther apart or
change the pattern into a zigzag pattern.
Keep Away
This is a fun and energetic way to get the whole family
moving! You will have your family form a circle with one member in the middle.
The players will then begin to pass the ball to other players in the circle and
try to keep the player in the middle from getting the ball.
Sharks and Minnows
Have one family member in the middle of the field. This
person is the shark. All other players will line up with a ball on one end of
the field (these are the minnows). The
minnows will dribble the ball down to the other end of the field, trying to get
passed the shark. If the shark kicks their ball, then that minnow is out until
the next game starts.
Wall Juggling
The aim of this drill is to improve your child’s reflexes
and get better at juggling the ball. Have
your child stand between 1 and 3 yards away from the wall. He/She will use the
wall to bounce the ball back and forth. To make things more difficult, have
your child use his/her thigh, chest and different parts of his/her feet.
Keeping good balance and staying on his/her toes will help keep the ball in the
air for longer while teaching your player proper weight and touch to use to
maintain constant control over the ball.
Stair Stepping
This drill is designed to improve your child’s stamina and
balance. Place the ball in front of your child and have him/her jump on and off
the ball without allowing it to roll backward. This drill might sound easy, but
it is actually quite hard to master!
With your child’s kicking foot on the ball, jump and place
his/her other foot on the ball while removing the kicking foot. The key is work
quickly. This will improve your child’s stamina while also challenging his/her
balance and control.
Having fun is the key to a players’ success! Make sure you
do not over-organize and dominate home practice. This can destroy the player’s
enjoyment of soccer. If we take the fun out of soccer for young athletes, we
are in danger of the youth athletes taking themselves out of sports. Our goal
is to make soccer a sport that children will enjoy for a lifetime.
Written by Anne Schneider, Program Director for Aquatics and Sports, Four Rivers Family YMCA